Tirunelveli, July 28: Karaikudi Kaalai and Madurai Super Giant both went all out to register their first points of the season in their Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match on Thursday (July 27). But, at the end of it all, the Kaalais were comprehensive winners by 43 runs at the ICL Ground in Sankarnagar.
Electing to bat, Karaikudi openers S Anirudha and Vishal Vaidhya made the most of the opportunity as they stitched a century partnership.
Their quick-fire 42-run partnership off 23 balls helped their side set a mammoth target of 186. Shajahan's cameo was especially electric as he smacked 32 runs of a mere 13 balls.
Madurai Super Giant started their run-chase with great intent as Arun Karthik smacked C Ganapathy for 16 runs in the first over.
Mohan Prasath then entered the fray and received the same treatment as he was dispatched for a boundary. The left-arm spinner had the last laugh, though, as he castled Karthik off the very next ball.
Madurai lost two more wickets in the powerplay but kept pace with the required run-rate. Shijith Chandran and Shahrukh Khan built a very useful 42-run partnership off a mere 30 balls. Prasath was again the wrecker-in-chief as he got rid of the dangerous Chandran.
Shahrukh kept attacking the bowlers and waged a lone battle but kept running out of partners. He tried to keep his side within touching distance but the target proved to be too far, especially after he fell for 39.
About 300 children from Saratha Matriculation School, Sankarnagar, enjoyed the match.
Brief scores: Karaikudi Kaalai 185/5 in 20 overs (Vishal Vaidya 65, 51b, 5x4, 3x6; S Anirudha 40, 31b 4x4, 1x6; M Shajahan 32, 13b, 2x4, 3x6; DT Chandrasekar 2/16) beat Madurai Super Giant 142/9 in 20 overs (Shahrukh 39, 30b, 5x4, 1x6; Shijith Chandran 26, 26b,1x4, 2x6; Mohan Prasath 3/13, R Rajkumar 3/23) by 43 runs.
OneIndia News